A kitchen is unlike any other room in the house. While other rooms change to reflect changes in lifestyle - new couch, new lamps, new curtains -- the kitchen grows with its owner, changes little, and brings a history with it. While I started out thirty years ago with a set of borrowed pots and pans and a mismatched set of yard sale cutlery, I have accumulated so much more, both voluntarily and by accident.

Counter space is another critical element of any kitchen design and perhaps the most difficult part is deciding what type of material you want for the counter surfaces. Granite is a popular modern trend that lends both durability and elegance to your kitchen design but other popular materials include limestone, concrete, tile and even metal.

Like many things in the design world, kitchen design is stepping up and upgrading itself by the use of computers. Designing software allow costumers to have a feel of the product before they decide to go for a certain design or features. Since a lot of people have had bad experiences with redesigning parts of their houses, many like to use the technology and see how the thing will look once its done, it is a natural development of design and costumer service.